Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Chen Yansen answered without hesitation.

If they wanted to compete with ARM, they had to be sincere about the price.

He had previously learned that Apple paid ARM seven to eight hundred million USD in patent service fees annually, an eighty-million-USD one-time licensing fee, and an additional 0.5% royalty.

”ARM’s royalty is also 0.5%,” Ge Yue said, looking troubled.

The implication was that a brand-new instruction set technology probably didn’t have the standing to demand a 0.5% royalty rate.

”The one-time licensing fee for the Orange Z1 is low,” Chen Yansen said calmly.

He paused, then added, ”It’s non-negotiable.”

While increasing the Orange Z1’s adoption rate was important, he wasn’t about to sell it on the cheap.

Ge Yue’s smile froze. She carefully observed Chen Yansen’s expression and micro-expressions. Seeing his firm stance, she knew she couldn’t haggle any further.

’Besides, the one-time licensing fee is only three million US Dollars. If Orange Technology wants to earn royalty money, it’ll depend on whether Apple’s chips even use the Orange Z1 instruction set architecture.’

”Alright, I agree to President Chen’s offer. Additionally, regarding Apple joining Pinbei, I’d like to know what kind of support strategies your company has in terms of traffic and marketing?”

Ge Yue agreed readily, then changed the subject to what she considered the ’real business’.

”Pinbei’s approach is different from Ah Li’s. The ’Ten-Thousand-Person Group Buy’ in the ’Ten-Billion Subsidy’ channel gets the most exposure, but the channel has its requirements—the price must be the lowest on the entire internet.”

Chen Yansen replied.

Seeing this, Huang Zheng, who was standing to the side, connected to the projection screen and opened a brand promotion PowerPoint for Pinbei Mall. He added, ”President Ge, the Ten-Billion Subsidy channel on Pinbei has fifty million daily active users. The Ten-Thousand-Person Group Buy runs once a week with five products per session, and can generate up to three hundred million impressions in a single week.”

Ge Yue stared at the screen, mentally calculating the credibility of Huang Zheng’s claims.

She had purchased e-commerce industry reports from third-party consulting firms before, so she was well-aware of Pinbei’s core data, such as daily active users, daily sales, and conversion rates.

The numbers might not be perfectly accurate, but they wouldn’t be far off.

”President Chen, I promised Ah Li that our daily and major promotional prices on third-party e-commerce channels would remain consistent. I can’t guarantee the lowest price on the internet.”

Ge Yue shrugged, offering a tactful refusal.

”The channel’s rules are the rules. My hands are tied.”

Chen Yansen offered no leeway.

Ge Yue was at a loss for words. He was even more aggressive than she had imagined.

Pinbei Mall already featured mobile phone brands like Orange, Huawei, ZTE, Coolpad, Xiaomi, and NetEase. If Apple joined, it would merely be the icing on the cake.

Of course Chen Yansen had the upper hand!

”Fine. I can only promise you that during major promotional periods, Apple will pay Pinbei an additional advertising fee. As for what you do with that money, Apple won’t ask.”

After three minutes, Ge Yue spoke softly, her brow furrowed.

’See? There’s always a way.’

’In business, as long as you’re willing to sit down and talk, it’s always possible to find common ground.’

Chen Yansen smiled faintly, his expression betraying no excitement.

He didn’t believe Lao Ma hadn’t made a similar request. The terms Ge Yue could offer Pinbei, she could naturally offer Ah Li as well.

’Some things you only get if you ask for them!’

After settling the preliminary cooperation intentions, the rest was simple. They just needed to confirm the contract details and sign it.

As the host, Chen Yansen accompanied Ge Yue on a tour of the Orange Technology headquarters, including the chip design department and the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. He also took the opportunity to pitch his Yuxi development tools.

But Apple already had mature voice recognition tools and its Siri smart assistant, so Ge Yue wasn’t interested.

That afternoon, the two parties reached an agreement.

Chen Yansen booked a private room at the Sky Garden and arranged a dinner with drinks, which didn’t end until ten o’clock at night.

Ge Yue and her subordinates rushed back to Yanjing that same night.

”Boss, I’m heading back now,” Huang Zheng said in front of the hotel.

”Alright. Tell the driver to take it slow,” Chen Yansen said, patting Lao Huang on the shoulder.

”Boss, Mr. Huang, I’m heading up to rest then. See you tomorrow,” Zhou Shouzhi said with a smile and a wave.

He hadn’t bought or rented a place in Xucheng. Instead, he chose to live in a top-floor suite at the Sky Garden. On his weekends off, he ate and drank at the hotel, and there were even dedicated staff to clean his clothes and shoes.

For someone like him, living in a hotel was more convenient.

Chen Yansen nodded in acknowledgment, then got into a panda-colored Gusteau.

Xiaoli gripped the steering wheel, remaining perfectly still.

”Head back to... the Delta.”

Chen Yansen had originally wanted to go to Master Ye’s place for a bowl of sweet soup, but on second thought, Lao Chen was over forty this year and didn’t have many years left. Every meeting was precious. He decided to go home and spend time with his old man instead.

Xiaoli said nothing, turned the car around at the intersection, and soon entered Xucheng Avenue, heading west.

Half an hour later, Chen Yansen pushed open the wooden gate to the courtyard. He saw Chen Guobin lying on a soft couch by the pond, fast asleep.

He was wrapped in a goose-down blanket with only his head sticking out. The corners of his mouth were turned up in a brilliant smile.

Chen Yansen found this amusing. He walked straight over and shook Lao Chen.

”Hui Zhen, run! It’s an earthquake!” Lao Chen yelled subconsciously, half-asleep.

Chen Yansen’s hand froze. ’This old man is a lost cause,’ he thought. ’He’s clearly determined to hang himself from a single tree.’

Soon, Chen Guobin slowly woke up and realized it had just been a dream.

”The floor heating is on inside, but you’re out here sleeping in the cold wind. You looking to get sick?” Chen Yansen said irritably.

”It’s too hot in the room,” Chen Guobin said with a dry laugh.

”You don’t know how to adjust the floor heating? Didn’t think to call me?” Chen Yansen shot back.

”I was afraid of interrupting your work,” Chen Guobin said, embarrassed.

”Come on, let’s go inside.” Chen Yansen’s heart softened, and he led the way into the living room.

”What for?” Chen Guobin asked, following him.

”I’m going to teach you how to use the floor heating and the air conditioner,” Chen Yansen said, turning his head.

When he was a child, Lao Chen had seemed to know everything. Only after growing up did he realize there were so many things his father didn’t know.

”By the way, where’s that chef from yesterday? Why didn’t she come today?” Chen Guobin asked curiously, trailing behind his son.

”She’s on vacation. What, was the takeout for lunch no good?” Chen Yansen’s lie came effortlessly, without the slightest hesitation.

”It wasn’t as good as her cooking,” Chen Guobin said honestly.

His own cooking skills were terrible, but he was certainly a picky eater.

”The chef... will be at work tomorrow,” Chen Yansen replied.

Then, he led Chen Guobin to the thermostat for the floor heating and patiently taught him the function of each button.

Lao Chen listened very carefully.

”Just call me if you need anything. I’m the boss, not some wage slave.”

Chen Yansen said to Lao Chen before heading upstairs.

”Xiaosen, thank you,” Lao Chen said with a grin.

Chen Yansen didn’t say anything. He returned to the master bedroom on the third floor, pulled out his phone, and sent a text message to Ye Qiuping: ”Lao Chen praised your cooking.”

”Really?”

Ye Qiuping, dressed in a pink, lace-trimmed nightgown, replied from the sofa, a look of delight on her face.

”So, bring your battle gear tomorrow and clock in for work at the Delta on time,” Chen Yansen immediately instructed.

”...” Ye Qiuping was speechless.

...

...

The next morning, a rumor began to circulate that Ah Li was planning to spend 600 million US Dollars to acquire a 20% stake in Weibo.

Since neither party denied it, it was taken as a tacit admission of Ah Li’s investment in Weibo.

Lashou Network launched a ”Group Buy An Nan Brides” service and was publicly criticized by the Inspection Association.

Li Yanhong called Gong Zhenbing into his office and chewed him out for over ten minutes before his anger subsided slightly.

Early in the morning, a call had come from the higher-ups, demanding to know what Qian Du thought it was doing.

Only then did he find out about Gong Zhenbing’s outrageous stunt.

「Meanwhile.」

Also in Yanjing, Lei Yijun announced Xiaomi Technology’s 2013 sales target on Weibo: 15 million units.

Zhou Hongyi followed right after, provocatively adding one million to that number, setting the annual target for 360 Mobile Phone at 16 million. He also took the opportunity to release the design of the new 360 N2.

Seeing the two of them stirring up a buzz, Zhou Shouzhi had the Market Department announce to the public: Orange Mobile Phone’s shipment target for 2013 is one hundred million units!